Indefensible (DI Sara Ramsey Book 12), M Comley [world of reading TXT] 📗

Zappel was incensed. “You can’t. I won’t allow you to run out on me. Come back here, you friggin’ moron.”

The slamming of the door behind Jordan silenced Zappel.

Sara smiled. “It’s not your day today, is it, Jo? You will be placed under arrest for both murders and transferred to a remand centre this afternoon. Dan, can you escort Mr Zappel back to his cell? Thank you.”

The young uniformed officer grabbed the struggling Zappel by his cuffed hands and marched him out of the room.

Carla ended the recording and, together, they both let out a long sigh. “That was tough. Do you believe him?” Carla asked.

Sara gathered the file and left her chair. “No chance. He’s as guilty as fucking Saddam Hussein was all those years ago.”

Shuddering, Carla replied, “I can think of better comparisons. That man gave me the creeps every time his face appeared on the TV.”

“Sorry. Yep, me too. Vile, controlling individual. The world is a better place without him.”

They trudged back upstairs, Sara deep in thought about what Zappel had said. Something is off, is he guilty or not? Once they’d arrived at the incident room, she brought the whiteboard up to date and stared at it for a while. She turned to see the rest of her team silent, all watching her. “Okay, I was mulling things over there for a moment. Here’s where we stand. We’ve arrested Zappel for both murders, except, for some unknown reason—don’t bloody ask me why—I believe him when he says he wasn’t involved in the second crime. There, I can’t believe those words left my mouth either, before you challenge me on that. Carla, what do you think?”

“Possibly. The only thing making a mockery of the situation is the firm evidence we have. The CCTV footage of his car and a person dressed in his coat and hat close to the second murder scene. That’s pretty damning evidence to dismiss.”

Sara swept a few loose hairs behind her ear. “I know. Believe me, I’d rather be pointing the finger at him, but what if we’re wrong? What if that’s not the end of the murders even though we have him in custody?”

“If you think that, then why did you arrest him for both?” Carla contested.

Sara shrugged. “Because of the damn evidence. That has to count somewhere along the line, doesn’t it?”

“I suppose. What now? We tie all this up and set it aside for the time being?”

Sara sighed. “If only. I think we need to go over everything a few more times just to ensure we’re not missing anything vital.”

“Like arresting the right suspect?” Carla grumbled.

Sara cocked an eyebrow. “Let’s just say, I’d rather arrest him than let him walk the streets. He’s guilty as sin for the first murder, so I don’t feel like I’m stitching him up. Plus, at the risk of repeating myself, the evidence will back me up when the case goes to court. Damn this bloody gut feeling, sometimes it can be a sodding curse. Just to satisfy my curiosity, we need to carry out a thorough background check on Zappel. Where he works, who he lives with. I know we’ve seen inside his house; to me, I think he lives alone, but I’ve been known to be wrong in the past. Does he have a family? Is or was he married? Let’s get busy, guys. I’ll be in my office chasing up Lorraine and Forensics. Any questions?” The team all shook their heads. “Let’s get to work then, dig deep, guys, I know you won’t let me down.”

She left the incident room and entered her office via the vending machine. On her way to the desk, she paused to look out of the window at the amazing view of the Brecon Beacons, except today, the view reflected her mood. Cloudy and dreary.

Have I done the right thing? Could this come back and bite me in the arse? Sometimes, I have to go with the evidence that’s placed before me, don’t I? Even so, it’s a risky strategy to have to take. Zappel was adamant he had nothing to do with that second crime, to the point of being horrified by the suggestion he would or could rape someone. How does one person go from killing an old woman for her cash to killing a young woman, even raping her before taking her life? None of this makes any sense. If it wasn’t for the conclusive evidence we’ve sourced, I would never link the crimes, not in a million years!

She sat behind her desk and rang Lorraine. “Hi, it’s me, Sara. I suppose it’s too soon to have any news for me, right?”

“Hi, yes, it is. I’m still working on both victims. What’s up? You sound harassed.”

“Kind of. We’ve arrested someone for both crimes. He’s admitted he was present at the first murder, denies doing the deed.” She let out a sigh. “But we have footage of him obtaining money from the victim’s bank with her card.”

“Okay, and?”

“And, I’ve arrested him for the second murder, but…”

“What? You’re unsure whether he’s the culprit or not? Is that a wise route to take, Sara?”

“Hear me out. Again, we have him as close as damn it to the second scene. CCTV footage of his car, the suspect leaving the alley and returning to his vehicle.”

“I see. Then I don’t understand what the problem is.” Lorraine yawned.

Sara felt sorry for her being on call all hours of the day. “The problem is, my damn gut instinct is telling me something is gravely wrong.”

“How is that possible if you have the proof with the footage?”

Sara unwrapped a piece of chewing gum and started masticating it. “Correction, sorry, I should have been clearer. We have a person wearing a coat and hat who looks like the suspect. We haven’t actually got a visual of him other than that.” She replayed the image in her mind.

“Ah, I can see why this is bugging you, then. It’s not cut and dried and that’s how